Can't get me back
by Hottiesplomiegurl
Summary: So...there's this girl and this guy and their going out. And the guy breaks it off because it causes band drama. Ulterior motive, possibly? sexual inuendo. As far as i know, complete, unless the evil plot fairy decides otherwise.
1. A Regular Day

Ch.1 A regular day

I slammed my locker shut and picked up my books from the floor. I turned as my boyfriend, Ben, came and tapped me on the shoulder.

"Hey beautiful," he said with a smile. He gently kissed me.

I smiled and we turned and started walking down the hallway to our next class. "Hey yourself. What put you in a good mood?"

"O just that fact that I heard we have a substitute teacher in Chemistry…"

"Are u SERIOUS!" I exclaimed.

Ben nodded and smiled wider.

"YES!" I punch the air. "I love substitutes!"

"But don't get your hopes up…"

"Why?"

"Because I got it from an unreliable source."

I snorted. "Leora Keynreim."

"The one and only."

"Remind me again why you share a locker with her?"

Ben grimaced. "Not my fault. She made me. Literally."

We arrived at class and took our assigned seats. The bell rang a few minutes later. No teacher appeared, and across the room, Ben winked at me. I smiled and mouthed 'unreliable'. He shrugged.

About five minutes later the chemistry teacher walked in. "Sorry! The copy machine broke, and I had to make like 50 thousand copies…"

I inwardly groaned and looked over at Ben. Indifferent as always, he shrugged.

A few minutes into the stoichiometry notes, a note appeared on my desk.I opened it. It said 'unreliable' and had a little smiley face next to it. I shook my head and smiled.

I glanced up at the clock and the smile slid off my face. _OMG we still have another hour!_

The teacher shut off the overhead and began handing out the worksheets. I resigned myself to work and took out my calculator. I flipped the page over and I wanted to crumple the paper up. Fifty problems. Fifty. _Who does she think I am? Speedogirl?_ I smiled as I realized the double meaning of that line and settled down to work.

My best friend, Brittany, grabbed me during the break. "Holy crap! Allyson! He talked to me!"

I smiled. "OOOO. Did he ask you for your number?"

"Nooooooo, but he said 'I'll see you around sometime.'"

I shook my head and laughed.

"So how are you and Ben, huh?"

"Good, good. It's been what, two months?"

"Yea I think so. Well that's cool! But you know I've been meaning to ask you, did you first go for him before or after you found out he was going to be drum major?"

"Um…let's try BEFORE, and it's not like I need to date a drum major to improve my position in band."

Brittany smiled and made bowing motions. "Sorry your great-guard-captain-ness."

"As you should be!" I playfully hit her.

She punched me back.

"OW! Damn girl! You always hit harder than you think."

"Your just a wimp."

"Well let's see if you still call me that with my ballet skills in your face."

"Let's match your ballet skills with my tuba."

"Noooooo thanks, I'll pass."

Brittany laughed maliciously. "I win."

After orchestra, I walked out to my sister's car in the senior parking lot and stuffed my bag and violin inside. Then I took my keys for the car and unlocked the car. I sat down on the drivers side.

"Woo, it is hot in here!" I started the car and turned on the air-conditioning…and it didn't work.shit. I stepped out of the car before I roasted to death.

Ben was there, opening my trunk and loading his stuff inside.

I walked towards him. "Excuse me? Just WHAT do you think you're doing?"

Ben looked up. "Um…"

"That's what I thought." I smiled. "Hello." I kissed his cheek. "How was your day?"

Ben sighed and closed the trunk. "Better now that I'm with you."

I smiled. "One day, Ben, you'll run out of those cute comments. Hey get in the back, because my sister is coming home with us today."

Ben nodded and hopped in the back. About 5 minutes later, my sister, Erika, walked out the side entrance and started over to the car. After loading her bag in the back, she hopped up to the passengers side seat.

"You're driving, I'm assuming?"

"No, ya think. Thank you Cap't Obvious."

"The power of observation is the greatest power of all."

I looked at her. "Okay, darling, whatever you say."

I put the car in reverse and peeled out of the parking lot. (okay I didn't PEEL)

I dropped Ben off at his house, and then continued onto mine. After I pulled in the driveway, I opened the garage door and stepped out of the car. I popped the trunk and grabbed my stuff and walked into the house. I grabbed a snack and then sat on the couch, relishing in the cool air touching my skin. Ah, sweet air-conditioning.


	2. Tired Out

Ch.2 Tired out

_Ben looked over at me. "Can we go for a walk?" _My dream shattered as the ringing of a phone broke my unconsciousness. Groggily I sat up and reached for the cordless.

"Ello?"

"Allyson."

"Hola, Ben."

Ben chuckled. "You sound…sleepy?"

I checked my watch. "Yea, actually, I guess I fell asleep on the couch when I got home. Wow, that was like, 2 hours ago." I yawned. "What about you, what have you been up to?"

"Ah…homework, like usual."

"Sounds exciting."

"O yes, it's incredible."

"You know, I think I'm going to watch a movie….Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings?"

"Definitely Harry Potter. Speaking of movies, do you want to see one this weekend?"

"Followed by dinner at Max and Erma's afterwards?" I asked excitedly.

"If you pay."

"Ha. Nice joke."

"Er…yea, ok, Max and Erma's."

"Yea."

"So I'll pick you up, say, 4:00?"

"Great." I replied. "YOU CAN DRIVE!"

"HaHA, very funny. Just cause I get a ride home everyday DOESN'T mean I'm helpless."

"Ok."

"Well, ok. And I do really need to go."

"Ok."

"So I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Ok."

"Um, could you say something other than 'Ok'?"

"Ok."

"Stop it. Stop it now."

"NO, never. So I'll let you go."

"See ya."

"Bye."

Allyson heard the phone click on his end before turning her phone off. "And I could SO fall asleep again."

At about 7 that night, I heard a knock on my door. Warily, I walked to the door and opened it a crack.

"Ben? What are u doing here?" I asked in surprise.

"What I'm not allowed to visit all of a sudden?" He smiled. "I have a gift for you."

"Really?" I peered around him, feigning childish delight.

"Bad child," he said, playfully slapping my hand. He turned me around. "Close your eyes," he ordered.

I complied and felt myself being pushed back into my house and guided to my family room. He set me down on the couch.

I heard a rustle of paper and then it was quiet.

"Open your eyes, " he said.

I opened my eyes, and Ben drew a DVD case around from his back.

"Oh my gosh! You shouldn't have!" I took the DVD from his hands. "National Treasure! You have no idea how much I wanted this!" I looked up at him. "Speaking of which, how did you know?" I raised one eyebrow.

Ben shrugged. "I'm psychotic."

I smiled. "I bet. So then you would know what I'm thinking right now?" I stood up.

"Um…give me a second."

I walked over to and put my arms around his neck and drew him into me.

He bent his head towards mine. "Now I know." We smiled, our foreheads pressed against each other. Ben lowered his head, and I felt the pressure of his lips on mine. I gently ran my hands through his hair. Gosh, his tongue. Slowly he maneuvered us over to the couch. He gently laid me down. The DVD lay completely forgotten on the floor.

I woke up in my bed to the sound of my alarm. I groaned. "10 more minutes, pu-lease." The alarm was untouched by my plea, and continued to resound in ever increasing volume. I sighed, and sat up, hitting the alarm with my arm, though I really wanted to hit it with a sledge hammer. I climbed out of my bed, and stumbled to the shower.

30 minutes later, I left the bathroom feeling totally refreshed and ready to face the day. I waltzed over to my closet and picked out a blue-patterned tank with a green trim, cream colored capris, a green belt and flip-flops to match, and finally, blue earrings. I blow-dried my hair so that my light brown hair cascaded down my back. For the final touch, I added light blue eyeshadow, with a light green eyeliner, brown mascara, and a touch of lip gloss. Pleased with my appearance, I walked back into my room to grab my bag.

I loaded my stuff in the car, and hopped in the drivers seat and turned the key. I waited for 5 minutes, and then honked the horn. 5 minutes later, I was still waiting. After another 5, I turned off the ignition, fuming, and walked inside to find my sister, still in her pj's and slowly eating a piece of toast.

"Um, I'm leaving."

Erika looked at me. "No your not." She gulped down some milk.

"If your not out there in 2 minutes, you can catch the bus sweetheart."

Erika waved me away, uncaring.

I sighed and walked back out to the car. Amazingly, she was out to the car two minutes later, though her hair was still a mess and she still had breakfast in her hand. I pulled out of the driveway and hurried to school. Arriving about 10 minutes before the warning bell, I parked the car and then made my way to the band hallway.

Chaz, the senior drum major greeted me. "And how are we today, my lover?"

I looked around me. "Who are you talking to, cause I KNOW you aren't talking to me."

Chaz smiled indulgently. "What don't you know? Drum majors share their women."

I snorted. "In your dreams maybe."

"That's what you think, sweetheart." He walked over to me.. "You know deep inside, your just dying to see ole' Chaz…" His face was inches from mine.

I looked at him and then patted him on the shoulder. "Have a good day, Chaz." I walked around him to Brittany on the other side. "Hey girl."

Brittany looked at me. "What was that about?"

"Oh, I think he just tries to play with what he can't get."

Brittany nodded. "Yea, he's a bit full of himself that way."

"Just a bit. Not that he's NOT hot though. Cause he is. He's just…"

"Cocky," Brittany finished for me. "Shall we go, Lady Allyson?"

"Yes, I do think so, Lady Britiana." We glided out of the band hallway and down to the gym.

"I hate having gym first block," Brittany complained.

I pulled my lock and it released. "Yes! On the first try!"

Brittany looked over at me. "Ok, don't get too excited there."

"You know me. I excite over small things."

We changed into our PE clothes and walked out to the gym and grabbed a volleyball.

She threw it to me and I bumped it back to her, and she returned it, etc.

"Hey, were doing good today," I called as I bumped it to her.

"Yea, there are some days…" She replied as she set it to me.

"…That we can't hit anything." I spiked it to her.

"OW! Bruise!" she walked over to me. "Kiss it."

I kissed my hand and put it on her 'bruise'. "Wimp!" I called as she walked away.

She turned and hurled the ball at me. Caught by surprise it hit my finger and rebounded into my face. "OW! That was a double whammy!" I moved my fingers. "You jammed it!"

"Let me come over there and I'll unjam it for you."

"No thanks. Really."

After a while, the whistle blew, and we sat down in our respective rows so the we could stretch and the teachers could take roll.

"Okay. So, um… we're running the mile today," our teacher, Mr. Vivicqua said.

The class, as one, groaned.

Mr. V raised his hands. "I can't do anything about it; It's required."

We reluctantly stood to our feet and followed him out to the track.

"I hate the mile," I stated sourly as Mr. V began the time. "Hate it, hate it, hate it."

After the bell rang for gym, I walked to my study hall on the other side of the school. On the way I stopped at Ben's locker and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hello, Allyson," he said without turning around. The he turned and smiled at me.

"How'd you know it was me?"

"I'm psychotic, remember?"

"Oh. Riiiiiiight…"

He kissed me lightly on the mouth. "How was gym? Did you run the mile?"

I glared at him. "You knew that, you evil creature, and you didn't tell me on purpose."

Ben tried to look innocent. "Slipped my mind. And how do you know if I did it? Just because we have the same teacher doesn't mean we always do the same things. Besides, I thought you needed the exercise."

"We usually do the same things….and are you implying I'm fat?"

"No, I just noticed that you got really tired out last night." He smiled behind his hand.

"OOOO. That was bad. Personally, I think I tired YOU out."

"Then I guess we should EXERCISE more so we don't get tired."

"You just want an excuse to make out with me."

"Hey, what can I say, I'm a pimp."

I laughed loudly. "Whatever you say, dear, whatever you say. I gotta go to my class now, ok?"

He nodded. "See you at lunch."


	3. Friday

Ch.3 Friday

I left my third block class and walked down the hallway to my locker. I walked to the end of the hallway and then sighed and turned around. I always missed my locker the first time.

I turned the lock. _15-48-15_. I pulled the lock.Damn. It didn't open. Again, I sighed and redid my locker com. It still didn't work. I breathed in sharply. My leg inched out to kick the locker if it didn't work again. I tried it the third time. I pulled the lock. Merciful heaven, it opened. I shrugged off my backpack onto the floor and began pulling out the books for the morning classes and slamming them into the bottom of the locker.

I grabbed the binder for my fourth block class and shoved it into my back pack. I slammed the locker shut and bent over to pick up my bag.

"GOOD GAME!" Chaz yelled.

I almost fell forward as Chaz's hand struck myass with the force of a semi-truck. I breathed deeply, picked up my bag, and turned to give him the look.

"What?" he asked me, feigning innocence.

I glared at him. "I'm not in a good mood Chaz; Don't push me. I have my limits."

"Sure, sure," he said nonchalantly. "I heard you had a good game last night; I came to congratulate you."

"Game?" I replied, confused, as we began walking towards the cafeteria.

"With Ben."

"Oh." I flushed. "Do you all just like TALK about that in second block?" I mimicked Chaz's voice. "So what all did you do last night?" Then I responded in Ben's voice. "Oh…I went over to Allyson's house and i…"

"made out with her totally sexy body," Chaz finished for me.

I looked at him. "Is that Ben or Chaz speaking?"

Chaz grinned. "Hey, I quote verbatim." He held up two fingers. "Scout's honor."

I smiled reluctantly.

"See, you're not in a bad mood," Chaz said all too cheerfully.

We walked into the cafeteria and found the rest of the band in the far right corner.

I set my stuff down by Ben and then sat down next to him.

He turned and looked at me. Then he tilted his head sideways. "Did you do something to yourself? You look different than you did this morning…like a glow or something"

"Chaz just totally scared the hell out of me, if that's what you mean. Maybe adrenaline causes a glow."

He shrugged and smiled. "Well, whatever it is, it's sexy."

"Yea." (A/N: pronounced Ye-ay)

"You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm just not in the best of moods….the stupid locker ticked me off." (A/N: pronounced Ye-a-uh.)

"Well, I can fix that." Ben lightly kissed me on the lips. "Better?"

I smiled. "A bit. I need another dose." He kissed me again, but more strongly.

When he pulled again, I sighed with contentment. "All better?" he asked me.

I made a thinking face. "I don't know…."

He pulled me into him and this time he practically snogged me silly.

We broke apart suddenly and we felt something splash on us. We turned across the table to find Brittany staring at us. "Do you know how unappetizing it is to watch you two? Honestly. You two are like animals."

I stared at her and then I cracked up. Ben chuckled. "I guess," I said. "But you know…"I looked at Ben, "It's not like we haven't had lots of practice."

Brittany threw me an exasperated look. "Too much info." Then she looked at me. "For now," she added with a sly grin.

I arrived in my English class a few minutes before the bell rang for the start of 4th block. Ms. Karleson, my teacher, was pulling out the overhead as I arrived.

Inwardly, I groaned. A long day of note taking. How exciting.

When the bell rang for the end of school, I jubilantly left the classroom. I walked, still jubilant, down to my car and jubilantly turned on my car. Still jubilant, I hopped out of the car and threw my stuff in the back. Ben came up and threw his stuff in the back and I jubilantly gave him a hug.

He looked at me. "Jubilation?"

"Yep. Cause it's…FRIDAY!" I screeched.

He looked up. "I think I pterodactyl just flew overhead."

I hit him lightly. "Don't make fun of the person giving you a ride home."

Ben nodded. "Good point. Maybe it was just a screech owl."

"That's it. You're out of the car," I said jokingly. "You can ride shotgun today; Erika caught the early bus home."

"Awesome," Ben replied and he swung up to the passenger seat. "So are we still on for tomorrow?"

"Indeed."

Ben groaned. "Don't start that again."

"Start what?"

"Indeed."

"Start indeed? Okay," I replied. "Indeed, I need…"

"Stop."

"Do I need, indeed?"

"Stop now."

"Indeed?"

Ben quickly leaned over and kissed me. "Will you stop now?"

I looked slyly at him. "Indeed."

"Let me out of the car."

I pulled into his driveway. "Your wish is granted."

Ben smiled. "So tomorrow at 4, right?"

I opened my mouth.

"Don't say it," Ben warned me.

I laughed. "Okay. Yes, 4 tomorrow. Au revior."

Ben looked at me. "Indeed."


	4. Dinner and a Movie

Ch4 Dinner and a Movie

I woke up late on Saturday morning. "Mmmm," I sighed contentedly. After a week or so of getting up at 5:30ish in the morning, weekends felt REALLY good. I swung out of bed and into my slippers and glided out of my room into the kitchen where I fixed myself a bowl of cereal.

I lazed around the rest of the day…until about two o'clock. Then I hopped in the shower, chose my outfit, primped, make-uped, straightened, blow-dried, and every other possible thing there was to do to get ready for my date.

Promptly at four, the doorbell rang. Slowly and gracefully, I walked to the door and opened it.

"Good afternoon, mademoiselle," Ben greeted me. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yea, just let me grab my purse," I replied. I hastened to my room, grabbed my purse and turned off the light. Ben guided me out the door.

As we walked to the car, I noticed someone sitting in the front seat. "Who's that?" I whispered to Ben.

"Oh." He grimaced. "Leora. She is making me drive her home."

"Oh. How nice. And sweet of you." _Andbitchy of her_.

Ben opened the door for me; it was the BACK door, because LEORA was in the front.

Leora turned and smiled at me. "Hello Allyson."

I smiled back…fakely, of course. "Hello yourself Leora," I replied graciously.

Ben got in the front seat and, after fastening his seat belt, began backing out of the driveway.

"So, Ben," Leora started, "How do you like being junior drum major?"

"Uh…it's great. Not that I've really experienced it a whole lot yet. That won't happen until fall."

"Of course," Leora replied smoothly. "I hope that it's not a bad experience for you." She gently laid her hand on his leg.

My mouth tightened. _Get off my turf bitch._

Ben shifted slightly away from her, causing her to remove her hand. "Oh, I doubt it will be a bad experience. But it will get better after I have more experience."

Ben pulled into Leora's driveway. "Well, I guess this is your stop."

"Yes," Leora sighed. She turned and winked at me. "Have fun tonight."

I just smiled and kept my thoughts to myself.

Leora clambered out of the car and walked to the trunk to grab her stuff. I opened the back door and walked up to the front to get in the front seat. I shut the door. Leora closed the trunk and walked up to her house, waving at us.

I looked at Ben. He looked at me.

"I hate her," Isaid.

"Yeah, me too."

Ben and I walked into Regal Cinemas and then he went and bought tickets for the 4:45 showing of Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. We walked into the theaters and gave the ticket man our tickets.

I pointed out a man to Ben. "Isn't that Chaz?"

Ben looked where I was pointing (Incidentally the snack bar). "Yeah, I think you're right."

We received our ticket stubs back and then we walked up to the snack bar.

"So what do you want?" Ben asked me.

"I'll just take a Coke."

"You're sure."

"Positive, and I'm going to go to the bathroom ok?"

Ben nodded and walked up to the register.

I walked over to the bathroom and glanced at my reflection in the mirror. I adjusted my hair and added a touch more of lip gloss. Then of course, being the clean freak that I am, I washed my hands…cause you never know where those theater peoples' hands have been.

I walked out of the bathroom and saw Ben and Chaz talking. I walked over to them and tilted my head.

"Ben, why did you get an extra-large popcorn?"

"Because I knew you'd eat all of mine if I got a small."

I gave him the evil eye. "No I wouldn't." Then I grabbed a handful of popcorn.

"What movie are you going to see?" I asked Chaz.

"Hitch-hiker. Can I sit with yall?"

Ben and I both shrugged as an answer.

"I guess I'll take that as a yes."

Ben and I shrugged again. Then we all started walking down the hallway to theater 7, and then we walked inside.

"I get to choose seats," I said.

Ben looked at me. "Why?"

"Because I say so."

"Well, I prefer the back."

"So do I," I replied. "Cause all the whiny kids sit up front."

Chaz grinned. "Then maybe you should go sit up there, Allyson."

I turned and swung my purse at him. It hit him on the shoulder.

"OW! What do you have in there? bricks?" Chaz exclaimed.

"Yeah, Chaz, I carry around bricks in my purse so whenever I get mugged I have a weapon to defend myself with," I said with a straight face.

"Are you serious?" Chaz said.

"Yes, Chaz, I'm serious," I said, my voice oozing sarcasm. I shook my head and smiled. "It's okay Chaz; you'll understand when you're older."

I grabbed Ben's hand and pulled him into the back row.

Chaz, Ben and I walked out of the movie theater and hour and a half later.

"So what was the point of that movie?" I asked.

Ben shrugged. "Don't ask me."

"Strange movie, if you ask me," Chaz added. "I'll see you two lovebirds later, ok?"

We smiled and nodded and then walked to Ben's car.

Ben pulled into the parking lot at Max and Erma's.

"Holy crap, there's a lot of cars here," I said. "Can you even find a spot to park?"

"Maybe ten miles away."

"Farther."

Eventually, we found a spot and walked up to the front door. It took us 10 minutes to get up to the front desk.

"Name?" the girl asked.

"Uh…" Ben started.

"How long is the wait?" I interjected.

The girl grimaced. "At least an hour."

"Areyou serious?" I turned to Ben and raised my eyebrows. "Do you want to wait that long?"

"Ah, no, not really." He turned and guided me back out of the door.

We both climbed into the car. "So what do you want to do?" I asked him.

"Well…we could go to my house…"

"And you could make a lovely romantic dinner."

Ben smiled. "More like, my mom cooks… cause you don't want to sample my cooking."

"But is your mom home right now?"

"Well, actually, no."

We sat in silence for a minute.

"Fine." I sighed. "I'll make dinner."

Ben laughed. "I knew you'd give in."

He drove us to his house (right down the street) and then we climbed out of the car. He opened the door, and I walked inside into the kitchen.

I set down my stuff and opened the fridge. Then I opened the cabinets. I spied the bacon bits and pulled them down. Then I opened the refrigerator an pulled out the eggs and milk and cheese.

Ben walked into the kitchen. "So what are we having?"

"Omelets. Do you like tomatoes?"

"No not really."

"Good; neither do I. That makes my job easier." I pulled out a frying pan, set it on the stove, and turned on the gas. I cracked two eggs into the pan, and poured about a quarter cup milk into them. Then I broker the yolks and swirled the egg/milk mixture around the pan.

"Anything I can help with?"

"Um…you can set the table and then cut the cheese." I laughed as soon as the words escaped my mouth.

Ben turned, laughing. "What did you say?"

"Cut the cheese."


	5. Another Love?

Ch.5 Another love?

I woke up on Sunday morning and lay for a while thinking about the events of the past night. Ben had driven me home close to eleven, because we both had church the next day.

My reminiscing was interrupted by my evil alarm clock. Reluctantly, I sat up and hit the off button and then slowly climbed out of bed. I suddenly heard a pounding of footsteps running down the hallway.

Immediately, my lethargy was forgotten as I sprinted to grab the shower before my sister. She pushed past me, ran into the bathroom, and shut the door in my face.

I heard her loud raucous laugh echoing from the bathroom. "You suck, Erika," I yelled at the closed door.

I walked to the kitchen and poured myself a large bowl of cereal.

My dad walked in the room and glanced at me. "Need a little milk with your cereal?" He said as he poured himself an equally large bowl.

I snickered. "Sure, dad."

After I finished my bowl of cereal, Erika still wasn't out of the bathroom, so I went into my room and picked out my outfit for the service. I waited a few more minutes and then walked to the bathroom and banged on the door.

"Just a minute," my sister yelled.

So I waited. And waited. I banged on the door again. "Erika! I need the bathroom too!"

"Give me a sec! Gosh!"

So I waited. Just as I was about to use parental authority to get myself in the bathroom, Erika emerged. I glared at her.

"What?" she asked me, acting like she was the victim. She walked by me and into her room.

I walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind me. After my shower, I put in my contacts and brushed my teeth. Then I got dressed, and then added make up.

At 8:30, I was ready to leave. I walked out of the door and into the car, where my Dad was already waiting. A few minutes later, my mother walked out. And then we waited.

"I think we should leave her," I said after 10 minutes.

Dad sighed and glanced at his watch. "She's going to make us late." He honked the horn a couple times.

A few minutes later, Erika walked out, opened the side door, and climbed in. "What are we waiting for?" she asked cheekily.

I walked into the church and was immediately recruited to sing alto on worship team by Mr. Edward. During the sermon, I sat with the rest of the youth in the right front pews. My friend, Katherine (Katy) Edwards tapped my hand to get my attention. She passed me a note.

I looked at it. Then I sat back, confused. It was from Peter. Peter had been my crush at the beginning of the school year. It hadn't worked out, and he hadn't been interested in starting a relationship. Not that I had ever let him know my feelings; but if he had been interested, he would have made a move. So I had moved on.

I opened the note and the read it. It said:

_Hey._

_How was your week? Mine was…erm, ok. _

_I was curious, are you going to Katy's house after church?_

_Peter_

I chuckled quietly. He sounded uncomfortable. I grabbed a sermon note paper and wrote a reply.

_Hey._

_My week was fine. Nothing exciting; just usual._

_Yes, I am going over to Katy's house after church. Y do u want to know?_

_Allyson_

His response came a few minutes later.

_Like I said, I was just curious. Nice outfit by the way. _

I got this reply and I was utterly confused. _What is he trying to do?_

I sat back and fixed my eyes back on the preacher. Then Katy tapped me.

"What was that about?" she asked.

"I really don't know."

Katy came up behind me and poked me after the service.

"Ready for the usual?"

I poked her back. "Yes."

She smiled. "Then let's GO!"

She and I skipped out to her car and drove to her house. This was a usual Sunday afternoon activity. Katy and I changed clothes and then made ourselves a huge batch of popcorn. We hurried down the stairs of her basement for our weekly movie session.

Katy stood by her movie selection. "So what shall it be today? Romance? Comedy? Action?"

I thought for a second. "Let's go with a romantic comedy….say…Miss Congeniality?"

Katy nodded her consent and slipped the DVD into the DVD player. The she flopped onto the couch beside me.

In the middle of the movie, the doorbell rang.

Katy groaned and paused the movie. "I'll be right back."

I watched her go up the stairs and then I laid back on the couch and relaxed.

A few minutes later, Katy clomped down the stairs. And then I heard a whole lot more clomps following her.

I looked up and the whole youth group was coming down the stairs.

"What's this?" I asked Katy.

"Oh, they just felt like dropping by," she said, smiling in a way so that I didn't believe her.

Those coming down the stairs included….Cindy, Jordan, Rebecca, Corey, Jeremy, other nameless people, and…Peter.

The people settled themselves down where they could. Peter came and sat on the couch next to me.

I glanced sideways at him. _WTF? He made it pretty clear he wasn't interested, or he would have done something._

After the movie, the youth took advantage of the Edwards' pool in their backward. They even had a barbecue set up, and I knew that this wasn't a random youth-drop-over.

During the party, Peter brought me over to the side.

"Hey," he started. Then he breathed. "Look, I….I'm sorry about the beginning of this year."

I raised my eyebrows.

"And, I really do like you."

My eyebrows went up another inch.

"So, I was wondering…would you like to go out sometime?" He held my gaze beseechingly.

I looked away and sighed. "Peter, I'm really very flattered. Really, I am. And if this had happened earlier in the year, then maybe I would say yes. But as it is, I have a boyfriend, and I'm am attracted to him."

Peter looked down.

I grabbed his hand, forcing him to look at me. "Please don't take it personally. You're a great guy, and any girl would be lucky to be with you."

Peter gave a small smile and shook his head. "Thanks, Allyson. But I can't be with just 'any girl'."" He stood up. "I'll be waiting for you Allyson." He walked away.

When I got home from the party, I walked over to the answering machine. I pressed the button.

The machine chirped. "You have one message. Message one:…"

"Hey, babe. It's me. Just calling to see how you are. I'll catch you later, ok? Bye."

"…Sunday, 5:04 PM. End of messages." The machine finished.

I sighed and decided to go to bed. I climbed into my bed after performing my usual get-ready-for-bed routine. I fell asleep quickly.

_"Can we go for a walk?" _

_I nodded and Ben guided me out of the hallway and through the school doors._

I was abruptly jarred to consciousness as my alarm clock went off. I groaned and sat up, hitting the off button.

I climbed out of bed and groggily chose my outfit for the day. Then I had breakfast and got ready for school. I walked out the door and stepped into the car, throwing my crap into the back seat.

I sat down in the driver's seat and started the car. After I few minutes, I revved the engine. I was not in the mood to wait for Erika today. After a few more minutes, I had had it. I put the car in reverse and started to pull out of the driveway.

A frantic Erika shot out the front door and hopped into the passenger's seat.

I looked at her hard-breathing form in amusement. "Maybe I should do that more often?"

Erika stopped in mid-breath and glared at me. "How about….no? Let's go."


	6. Special Spanish Convo

Ch.6 Special Spanish Convo

I walked into the band hallway about a half hour later. "Hey everybody!" I called.

A chorus of heys answered me. Ben slipped over to my side from where he'd been standing.

"Hey babe," he said to me, lightly placing his hands on my waist. "Let's go, shall we?" he asked with a small smile.

I nodded. "Let's."

Ben guided me out of the band hallway and over to our class, Algebra II/ Trigonometry, so we could drop off our stuff. As we walked inside our teacher looked up.

"Ah, good morning, Allyson and Ben. I must say I was very pleased with both your last tests."

Ben and I looked at each other, eyebrows raised. Mrs. Edwards was notorious for giving very hard tests. Ben looked away first.

"What did I get?" he asked Mrs. Edwards.

She raised her eyebrows. "Maybe I should make you wait till class starts…."

"Can we please know?" I added.

"Well…" she said with an evil smile.

As one, Ben and I glared at her.

"That's just not cool, Mrs. E! You hand the grade in front of our faces, tantalizing us, but not letting us see! Cruelty!" I said, pouting.

She sighed. "If you erase the boards and pick up trash around the room, I will tell you."

Ben and I high-fived each other and then quickly and efficiently cleaned up the room. Mrs. Edwards inspected our work.

"Well, I guess you can know…" she said. She rumbled through her drawer to find her grade book. "Let's see…." She said, tracing her finger down the page. "Ah! Ben, you got a 93….and Allyson, you got a 99." Mrs. E smiled broadly. "Good job, both of you. That's one of my harder tests for the year."

Ben and I nodded and smiled smugly. We glided out of the room and over to the staircase.

Ben stopped me and backed me against the wall. "Smarty pants," he said, his face inches from mine.

I shrugged. "Can't help it," I said, smiling.

Ben looked at me. "Then you'll understand how I can't help this." He bent and kissed me, not just a peck, but a delicious, long-lasting wintergreen gum kind of kiss. (A/N: sorry! I'm addicted to gum!) He pressed my body into the wall with his, feeling me with every inch of him.

When he finally released me, I was in a daze. He pulled me into him, off the wall, and started walking down the hall.

"Damn…" I murmured softly.

The warning bell rang softly, amidst the chattering of students, slams of locker, and rhythm of walking feet, and Ben and I walked to our classroom and then inside.

When class ended, Ben and I walked to our next class which was Spanish. We walked inside and glanced at the board. It read, "Dialogo hoy! Preparemos!" (A/N: nosotros command!)

"Crap," Ben said. He immediately pulled out his Spanish notebook and began studying his vocab.

I followed suit. When we have a dialogue day, the teacher randomly selects two students who have to come up and create, impromptu, a dialogue so that each other them use 4 vocab words. I hate these days, because I can write Spanish so much better than I can speak it.

The bell rang and my teacher, Senora Cronc shut the door. "Ok, clase, abren los libros y repasaremos (future tense) su vocabulario."

After reviewing the vocab which had to do with dating and parties, we shut our books and sat as she, yet again, explained dialogue day. Then she chose two people. Thankfully, neither of them were me.

When they finished, they chose two more people. Unfortunately, I was one of the people picked.

I stood up reluctantly and walked to the front as my partner was picked. It was Chaz.

Chaz looked at me and gave a small wink.

He started the conversation. "Entonces, Allyson, cuando vas a salir conmigo?

I smiled. "hmm….nunca?"

He came over and grabbed my hand. "Va a salir conmigo, por favor. Tengo un lugar en mente."

"Donde?" I replied.

"El restaurante Honderosas, donde nosotros podemos mirar las estrellas."

"Cuando?"

"Este viernes."

"Creo que no." I stated.

"Por que?

"Porque, yo tengo un novio, y nosotros vamos a un baile en viernes."

"Realamente?"

"Si."

Chaz started to fake cry, cause laughter through out the class.

"Me haces grita!"

"Lo siento. Pero, tu buscaras una chica que es mejor que mi."

"Creo que no. Te esperare."

(Translation:

So, Allyson, when are you going to go out with me?

hmmm…never?

go out with me, please. I have a place in mind.

where?

At the restaurant Honderosas, where we can watch the stars.

when?

This Friday.

I don't think so.

Why?

Because I have a boyfriend and we are going to a dance this Friday.

really?

yes.

you make me cry!

I'm sorry, but you will find a girl that is better than me.

I don't think so. I will wait for you.)

I looked at him in shock. Peter had said that. As I walked back to my seat, I wondered, _What the heck is going on here?_

After Spanish, I walked out hurriedly. Chaz caught up with me.

"Hey, are you ok?"

I smiled. "Yeah, what makes you think I'm not."

"The way you reacted to the last line I said."

I sighed and the smile slid off my face. "It just reminded me of something that happened on Sunday."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

I shook my head. "No, not really."

"Ok." Chaz backed off. "I'm sorry."

My smile returned. "There's nothing to be sorry for. Go flirt with your girlfriends, Chaz."

Chaz nodded and smiled. "Ok." He planted a quick kiss on my cheek. "Bye."

I shook my head as I watched him go, immature as always.

After third block chemistry, I made my way to the cafeteria. I found the other band people and plopped down by Brittany.

"Hey girl," she greeted me.

"Hey. What's up?"

"The guy talked to me again."

"Really?"

"Seriously."

"Cool! What did he say?"

"He," she squealed, "Asked me what I was doing this weekend."

I gave a small squeal. "Are you serious? That's so awesome!"

Brittany sighed. "It WOULD be, if I was available this weekend."

"Oh. That sucks."

"Yeah, but enough about me. Where's your better half?" Brittany asked looking behind her.

"You mean Ben? I really have no clue."

"I do," a voice whispered in my ear.

I turned my head slightly. "Hey Ben!" I kissed him on the cheek.

"Any room for a loser like me next to you pretty ladies?"

Brittany and I chuckled and made room for him.

After fourth block, I drove Ben home and then myself home. The day was usual. It was regular. Doubtless, tomorrow would be as well. And the day after and the day after…..


	7. The Day Of

Ch.7 The Day Of

Later that evening, Brittany called me.

"Hello Darling!"

"Hey! What's up?"

"Do you want to go to the mall with me, Meagan, and Sarah after school?"

"I'd love to, but let me ask my mother first."

"Ok."

I covered the phone with my hand. "Mother? Can I go to the mall with Brittany tomorrow?"

My mother looked up from her cooking. "Yeah, I guess. Are you going to need a ride?"

"Probably not," I replied. I put the phone back up to my ear. "Ok Brittany! I can go."

"Awesome! See ya tomorrow!"

"Yeah, bye."

_Ben guided me out of the school doors and stopped me in our special place. He breathed deeply. _

"_Look, I don't think we should…"_

My alarm clock broke my dream. I swatted it and then groggily climbed out of bed. Once again, I heard my sister's feet racing to the bathroom. I sprinted out of my room and actually reached the bathroom before her. I relished in my victory all morning, until it was time to leave.

I hopped into the car and turned the radio on. I just sat there, grooving to the radio, waiting for Erika to come out. Eventually, she complied, and we were soon on our way to school.

I walked into the band room and was greeted by a chorus of 'heys'. I smiled in response and nodded my head. "Hi, people."

I looked around for Ben but I couldn't see him. Brittany popped out of nowhere.

"This is the steal-Allyson-away-to-walk-with-me-morning," she said to me, grabbing my arm and pulling me out of the hallway.

"But…"

"Oh, but! He (Ben) gets you ever OTHER morning and lunch and in the evenings! I'm your hip-buddy! One morning, please?"

I sighed and looked at her puppy-dog face. No one can refuse that face. "Fine," I said, giving in.

She jumped gleefully and we walked to put our stuff down in the gym.

As we walked around the school, I kept looking for a glimpse of Ben, but I couldn't find him anywhere. I started feeling sort of anxious, and then of course I wanted to hit myself. I breathed. _Take it easy, Allyson. Just because he didn't come to the band room this morning doesn't mean he's avoiding you…_

Brittany looked at me as we walked to the gym. "You okay, Hun? Is something bothering you?"

I put on a smile. "No, everything's okay! I was just thinking about something."

Brittany smiled in return. "Okay."

After PE, I walked to AP European history. We were reviewing for the AP exam. Oh, fun.

"Ok, class. I want you to get in groups of four and choose an era that you want to review. Come and tell me, and then get started doing most important SPRITE events. Okay?" Mrs. Macflore said.

(A/N: SPRITE is an acronym: social, political, religious, technological, economic, and then because sprite has no caffeine, cultural for C.)

I sighed and walked over to Alexa, Juliana, and Kevin, my fellow sophomores, and we chose the 1700s...i.e. the enlightenment and all that other stuff. It was a long block.

After third block, I walked to my locker on the way to the cafeteria. I opened my locker after three tries and therefore was thoroughly pissed off . My anxiety from the morning combined with my irritation and boredom of the rest of the day resulting in a totally horrible mood.

I grabbed my books for my 4th block class and then took great pleasure in slamming my locker shut and then adding a kick for good measure.

I walked to the bathroom to freshen up before heading to the cafeteria. I checked my eye make-up lip gloss, and hair before leaving and walking to the cafeteria.

I walked over to Brittany and plopped down by her. "Hey," I greeted her.

"Hey. You look pissed off…"

"Yeah…just not in a good mood I guess."

"Aw. I'm sorry."

I opened my lunch box and start tearing apart my sandwich.

"You know you're supposed to eat it, right?" Brittany said.

I smiled at her. "I'm relieving my stress. Unless you want me to do this to you."

Brittany grimaced then laughed. "That bad of a day?"

"Just about."

"Well, then this should make your day better," Brittany said with a nod in the direction to the entrance to the cafeteria.

I looked and I saw Ben walking into the cafeteria. He paused, located the band, and then walked over. He came and sat by me, and I could tell something was wrong.

"Are you ok? You don't look like your usual self," I said.

Ben sighed. "Yeah. I'm okay…" He paused. "Can I talk to you?"

I looked around. "Aren't we doing that already?"

Ben looked at me. "Can we go on a walk?"

"Yeah."

He guided me out of the school doors and stopped me in front of the rose bush...our special place…

I was getting the weirdest feeling of de ja vu. I drifted through my conscious and then I remembered.

_Ben guided me out of the school doors and stopped me in our special place. _

Ben stopped me and stared into my face. He breathed deeply.

_He breathed deeply. _

"Look, I don't…"

"_Look, I don't…"_

"…think we should…"

"…_think we should…"_

And then I knew what was coming. His strange behavior, his avoidance of me this morning…

"…go out anymore."

_"…go out anymore."_

And I just stood in shock for a moment, thinking, how did it come to this? I stood in silence, looking down at the ground.

Ben couldn't take the silence. "Are you ok?"

I just shook my head, and raised my arm, trying to block him from my view.

"Look, I know this is kind of sudden, but I think we should stop going out…for the good of the band."

And then fury flooded through me. "My gosh," I saidin a dead whisper. "At least have the guts to give a better excuse than THAT!" I said, my volume increasing. "Where the heck did this come from anyways? You just woke up this morning and were like, '….'?" And then my hurt choked me up and I turned away to leave.

Ben stopped me. "We were causing band drama."

And then I LAUGHED. Laughed at him. "WE were causing band drama? I can't believe this!"

"Look…"

"No, YOU look Ben. To me, this whole thing seems incredibly timed, and I am the one hurt here. So you just shut your mouth, and let me walk away, ok?" I just turned and left, laughing at his pitiful excuse. I was still chuckling as I walked to the bathroom. Then my chuckling turned to sobs, and I spent several minutes just crying my eyes out.

I walked out of the bathroom about 10 minutes later a single woman. Brittany was waiting for me by the locker.

"Hey! I was worried about you! Where did you go with Ben?"

I sighed. "We walked. And talked."

"About what?"

I slammed the locker shut. "Nothing."

"No, tell me!"

"I'd really rather not."

"Please!"

"Fine! We broke up, ok?"

Brittany stopped in the middle of the hallway. "What?"

I turned back and grabbed her arm, pulling her along. "Yes, you heard right."

Brittany glanced at me. "Are you ok?"

"I'm better now. I had a good 10 minute cry in the bathroom."

"Do…do you know why?"

"He said we were causing band drama."

Brittany laughed at that one. "Are you SERIOUS! Omgsh! You wouldn't even know you guys were dating!"

"That's what I thought. So I'm trying to figure out what his real excuse is."

We walked into our English class and sat down at our seats.

"You know what makes it all the worse?"

"What?"

"You remember Peter, right?"

"The guy you were totally in love with at the beginning of the year."

I smiled faintly. "Yeah, that's the one. Well, he asked me out on Sunday."

"Really?"

I nodded. "And I had to turn him down, because I was going out with Ben. And then Ben just…"

Brittany sighed. "Wow. That sucks."

"Gosh, I feel so used, Brittany."

Brittany rubbed my back comfortingly. "I'll kick Ben's butt for you."

I moaned. "Why does he have to have this class with us! I need a break."

Just then Ben walked in the door. He threw a quick glance at us, and Brittany gave him a glare in return.

Then she turned to me. "Let's just stop thinking about him…shall we? Are you still going to the mall with me, Meagan, and Sarah?" Brittany asked.

"Yeah. Better than doing nothing right? And shopping always gets me in a better mood."

Brittany nodded. Then the bell rang and class started.


	8. Coming Back

Ch.8 Coming back

After school got out, Meagan, Brittany, Sarah, and I met in the band hallway. Then we drove over to the mall. We parked on the top of the parking garage and walked into JC Penny.

The minute we were inside, Brittany stopped with her hands on her chest. "That is SO CUTE!" She walked over to a display.

I sighed. "Brittany, hun, we are not shopping at the JC today, ok? We gotta go to H&M and Abercrombie and stuff like that." For the second time that day, I pulled her along like a little kid.

We went to H&M and we all tried on outfits and had a blast.

Sarah came out of the dressing room looking wiped. "Man, there are WAY too many swimsuits in this store. And I felt compelled to try them on. I need some Coldstone. Anybody else up for it?"

(A/N: For those of you who don't know, Coldstone is like a Ben n Jerry's, or Baskin Robins, just more upscale)

So we walked up to the food court and Britt and I sat as Sarah and Meagan got some icecream. After paying, Sarah and Meagan sat down by us, and we began our usual band gossip.

We started talking about the brass line, and who was cute and who was not.

"OMGSH! Remember David Rieker at the beginning of the year? And he had us crush on like all of us?" Brittany began.

"Yeah, especially that time when he had that crush on Allyson after the Carlile show?" Meagan added.

I grimaced. "Yeah, well, sorry…" I grinned at Brittany. "I don't want that lumpy thing anywhere NEAR me."

(A/N: when thinking about lumpy things…think non-circumcision.)

They all just died laughing.

Meagan wiped her eyes, still chuckling. "O man. I think you got it where it counts, Allyson. Ben and you are so CUTE together! I think you definitely chose the better baritone player."

At the mention of Ben's name, my smile slid off my face and my heart dropped. _Do I tell or not?_

I sighed. "Actually, Meagan, I don't own any baritone player anymore."

Meagan and Sarah just STARED at me.

"Are you serious?" Meagan asked.

"Is this old news?" Sarah asked. "Cause I certainly didn't know about it."

"Ah, no. It happened today."

Meagan grimaced. "Well, I was going to say…if I didn't know about it…"

"I'm sorry, Allyson," Sarah said.

Meagan sighed. "Me too."

"You're too good for him anyway," Brittany added.

I chuckled. "Thanks you guys, but I don't need a pity party. Though it really means a lot to me that you guys care. But, let's talk about something else…like band banquet on Friday?"

"Omgsh! I'm so excited!" Meagan supplied.

"What are you going to wear yall?" Brittany asked.

"I'm going to wear a black sequin dress! I have the cutest purse to go with it!" Sarah said.

"I'm wearing a red dress, tango style," Brittany said.

"To go with your hair!" I added laughing.

Brittany feigned total vanity. "Of course! What are you wearing?"

"I'll probably wear my homecoming dress…its maroonish and its also tango style," I said.

"I'm wearing a blue halter! And I'm going to get my hair done!" Meagan squealed.

We went into other topics, and thoughts of Ben and break ups just seemed to drift away.

Meagan and Sarah finished their coldstones amongst other chatter, and then we all left.

Meagan dropped me off at my house around five. I walked inside and just thought about the days events. And then I grimaced. I was going to need a date for band banquet on Friday. _Who could I ask? _I thought for a bit. And then of course the answer came. Peter! Of course.

I picked up the phone and dialed Peter.

The phone picked up after 2 rings.

"Ello?"

"Hi, this is Allyson, is Peter available?"

"Hi, Allyson."

I chuckled. "Hey."

"What's up?"

"Do you want to go with me to my band banquet on Friday?"

There was silence on the other end.

I bit my lip, waiting.

"Well, I CAN, but…what about your boyfriend?"

"Ah, yes… well, um, we broke up."

"Oh…sorry."

"It's okay."

Peter sounded a little pissed off. "So I'm just a fallback then?"

"No! Where did you get that idea?"

"Well…"

"Peter, you were my first choice. Then you weren't interested, and later I was taken. But now it works out. It was always you I wanted."

This time the silence was more positive.

"Really?"

I smiled. "Yes."

"Ok."

"Is that an ok to the banquet?"

"Definitely. Count me in."

"Awesome. We'll pick you up at 6?"

"What should I wear?"

"It's semi-formal. I'm wearing maroon so whatever doesn't clash." I chuckled. "Ask your mom for help."

"Right….ok, see you Friday."

"Hmm..bye."

When I got up in the morning, I steeled myself for the day, because I knew it would test me. The day after is always the worst. When I got to school in the morning, I walked into the band hallway and silence immediately filled it.

I half-smiled. "I guess word gets around quick, doesn't it?" I said to the group.

Chaz came forward. "I'm sorry, Allyson." He hugged me. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm better now."

Chaz patted my shoulder and then I drowned in a pool of band friends expressing their condolences. After the flow of hugs stopped, the band hallway was still filled with silence.

I chuckled. "People, it's not like I died. You can be normal around me, I promise."

Right after I said that, Leora Keynreim skipped into the band hallway. "Hello everyone! O my gosh! I went shopping yesterday and I got this totally awesome jacket! And my modeling manager set up a show for me this Saturday! Aren't you just so excited for me!…"

She looked around. "What's wrong everyone?" She spotted me. "Oh…that. Well, that's the way it goes… But my modeling is really starting to take off…"

I looked around and spotted Brittany in the back. I gave her a little look, along with a let's-get-out-of-here gesture with my head. She nodded and rolled her eyes at Leora. We both edged out of the band hallway and down to Brittany's locker.

"Gosh, she is SO insensitive!" Brittany muttered. "I frickin hate her!"

"Don't you wonder how someone could hire her to be a model?"

"Ah, yeah. No offense, she doesn't have much."

I shrugged.

We walked into her biology room and I froze. Ben was standing by the door with some friends.

"Come on," Brittany whispered. "Pretend like you don't care." She pulled me to her desk. She dropped her bag on top of it and then picked up her purse.

I turned to leave and walked right into Ben. To keep me from falling, he grabbed my waist. I looked up at him and then began to walk past.

"Allyson, wait." He grabbed my hand.

Reluctantly, I turned around. "What?"

"I'm sorry."

I chuckled. "Shut up, Ben. How could you be sorry? You broke up with me."

"I…"

I shook my head and walked away.

Brittany met me outside. "What was that about?"

I snorted. "He was apologizing."

Brittany shook her head. "Men are stupid."

"I totally agree…"

I was very ready for the final bell by the end of the day. The confrontation with Ben and all the pity, hugs, and 'sorrys' were just too much, and I was ready to scream. I hoped tomorrow would be better. Unfortunately, it wasn't.

Thursday was much the same as Wednesday, but people were actually acting somewhat NORMAL around me. Unfortunately, I still had another episode with Ben, at my locker after third block.

I was putting my binders in my locker when someone tapped me on the shoulder. I stood up and turned around.

"Ben." I turned back around and picked up the books I would need for homework that evening.

"Allyson, we need to talk."

"Hmm…" I slammed my locker shut and started walking. "About what?"

Ben matched my pace. "I know that you're irritated with me…"

"Irritated? Try wrathful."

"Whatever. I just think that you're taking it a little hard…"

"Ben, honey, every break up is hard. Why are you treating this one differently? Usually after a break up, the other person needs space. So why aren't you giving me any? You're making it even harder for me."

We had arrived at the band hallway.

"Allyson, I'm not trying to make it harder for you."

"Well, you are. You're making it practically impossible for me to get over…" I trailed off. "O my Gosh! You're doing it on purpose! You self-centered, sick son of a pig!"

"What?"

"You're trying to keep from getting over it, because you still want me to like you, even if you broke up with me and don't like me anymore. You are such a dick!

Ben went red, and I just shook my head.

"How could you do that Ben? To me? To anyone?"

"I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I said I'm sorry! Its natural to want your ex to keep liking you."

"It's also cruel. Are you telling me all guys are cruel like that? I don't think so."

"I'm sorry, ok? I can stay out of your life if you want."

I smiled. "Oh, but you won't. You'll keep finding ways to come back, and you know it." I shook my head. "Get some help, Ben."

I turned and walked away.


	9. Can't Get Me Back

Ch.9 Can't Get Me Back

I walked into school Friday morning and I was met by a smiling Brittany.

"Hey girl!" She called to me.

"Hey! What's up?"

"Band banquet is tonight!" She practically sang.

I chuckled. "Still wearing that red dress?"

"Actually, I found a really cute black one at DEB that I'm going to wear! Ha! I'm so excited."

"I'm happy for you. Are you going to bring anyone?"

"No, unfortunately, and Tyson…you know the guy I've been going on about…is busy."

"Aw. I'm sorry."

"LoL! It's ok. It's just exciting that he's interested in me!"

The warning bell rang.

"I'll see you at lunch okay?"

"Ok! Love ya Allyson!"

I walked to my Algebra II Trig class and sat down. We were learning trig this quarter…ie the unit circle.

The teacher split us into groups to do a worksheet and I was put with Nick, Keith, and Melanie. We worked through the problems, thankfully with out problems, and then we sat and talked.

We got onto the subject of Student Council and started talking about representatives and officers. Then the conversation trailed to marching band and sports, etc.

In the middle of our conversation about Godspell, the spring play, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

My face froze, and I glared at the table, because I already knew who it was.

"Allyson, I was wondering if you could help me with these problems…"

"No. Go away."

"Look, I just want help."

I turned and looked at him. "What part of 'go away' do you not understand?"

"Allyson, I just want to have an informal relationship with you. This has nothing to do with…"

"Ben, if you want me to have an informal relationship with you, you need to leave me alone so I can get over the formal. I told you that you would do this; You could have gone to anyone in the class for help, but you came to me because you want to remind me that you're still there."

Keith broke into the conversation. "You guys broke up? Dude, leave her alone. She's getting really pissed at you."

I smiled briefly at Keith.

Ben just kind of stared at him and then he walked back to his own table.

"Thanks, Keith."

Keith smiled.

"So who was that guy?" Nick interjected.

I sighed. "My ex."

"And he's still following you around? Sounds like he's not over you yet."

"You know, I think you're right." I smiled.

I drove the car over to Peter's house at 6. I walked up to the front door and knocked on it.

Peter's father opened the door. "Hey Allyson. Why don't you come in? He'll be down in a minute."

I smiled and walked inside. "Do you have a bathroom I could use?"

"Straight down the hall, first door on your right."

"Thanks."

I walked into the bathroom and checked my makeup. I had gone with rust colors to match my dress. I ran my fingers through my hair. I had decided to wear it curly tonight. I smiled in satisfaction and then walked out into the living room.

Peter was waiting there. When he caught sight of me, his jaw dropped.

I smiled and I closed it. "You don't look so bad yourself," I said, my hand resting on his cheek.

"You look…" then he smiled. "You remind me of the Bible."

I looked at him for a second, then I laughed. "I don't understand."

"When God stopped the sun, so that Joshua would have more time to defeat the Ammorites…"

"..if I could ask God one thing, it would be to stop the moon… to stop the moon and let this night, and your beauty, last forever."

I smiled. "I love that movie."

"I do too. Shall we go?"

"Are you driving or am I?" I asked.

"I'll drive."

We walked out the door.

We pulled into the OCF club on the base about 10 minutes later. We parked and then walked inside.

When we walked inside, I felt all the looks thrown at us.

I grabbed Peter's hand. "You ok?"

He slid his arm around my waist and smiled at me. "Where do we sit?"

I saw a table with my friend Brittany and I nodded towards it. "There."

He guided me towards the table.

"Hey Brittany!" I called.

She turned and smiled at me. "Hey!" She tapped the chair next to her. "Come sit."

Peter and I sat down.

"Everybody, this is Peter. Be NICE to him, ok? No evil pranks," I stated. "Peter, this is Brittany, Melanie, MJ, Stephanie, Jordan, Erin, Aaron, Eric, and Kevin." I pointed to each person.

Peter waved and smiled. "Hello, everybody."

Brittany pulled me over to her. "Peter as in Peter-PETER?"

I smiled and nodded.

Brittany grinned. "Good job!"

Peter had hit it off well with the guys at the table.

I felt a tap on my back. I turned. "Chaz."

He smiled. "Hey, Allyson. Can we talk somewhere?"

"Yeah, sure." I stood. "Where to?"

Peter glanced up at me with a question in his eyes.

"It's ok," I said and I winked at him.

Chaz guided me over to the drinks. "Who's the guy?"

I looked at him. "A guy."

Chaz rolled his eyes. "Duh. As in…"

"We're friends, Chaz."

"Looks like more than friends to me."

"Maybe it is."

"You got over Ben that fast?"

"Um…sure."

"So when did this start…with you and your friend?"

I stared at him. "Are you suggesting that I cheated on Ben? It started after Ben."

Chaz raised his hands. "Just curious."

I shook my head. "He told you to ask me didn't he?" I sighed.

Chaz looked away from me.

"I'll take that as a yes."

"Allyson, he just…"

"That's right…'he just' broke up with me. Tell him to leave me alone. He doesn't listen to me; he might listen to you." I turned and walked back to my table and sat down.

Peter turned to me. "What was that about?"

I shook my head. "My ex wanted to know who you are."

"That was your ex?"

"That was a friend of the ex."

Mr. Boyd, the band director, came to the center of the floor. "Ok people, were going to do awards. Seniors first…line up."

Mr. Boyd gave the seniors, including my sister Erika, their trophies and other awards. Then it was juniors. Then it was sophomores.

I walked up to the front of the room and along with all the other sophomores, got in alphabetical order.

"Amy Carlson…" I cheered for her as she got her award.

"Brittany Colbourn…Caleb Davidson….Emma Ergson…David Etheral…Carmen Florez…"

"Allyson Gerety…" I walked up to the front and I received my letter, pin, and student leader badge. Then I walked back to my seat.

After the sophomores, there was Freshmen, and then superlatives. Then all the band and band parents got in a huge circle on the floor.

"Now it is time to say goodbye to our seniors. It is an annual event at band banquet," Mr. Boyd announced. The seniors walked around the circle saying their goodbyes while the friendship song played in the background. There wasn't a dry eye in the band after the song was done.

After the Senior circle, their was a dance for the band students. Parents left, and a professional DJ came in.

I pulled Peter up to his feet. "Come on; Let's dance." I led him by the hand and pulled him out onto the dance floor. I noticed Ben watching me, but I ignored him.

For a few songs, I was sandwiched between Peter and Chaz, then it was just Peter and I.

I turned to Peter. "I'm going to go get a drink ok? You can stay."

Peter nodded.

I walked over to the drink and poured myself a huge class of water. I stood and watched the roiling mass of people on the dance floor. Then the DJ put on the electric slide. I smiled, finished my water and moved onto the dance floor.

After the slide, MJ and I started '60s dancing in the middle of the floor. We did the lawn mower, the sprinkler, the scuba, the swimmie, and flamingo, and every other step we could think of.

After an hour or so of dancing I went to the side and rested.

Somebody appeared at my side. It was Ben.

"You sure know how to ruin a good night," I said to him.

"Allyson, I still love you. Please give me another chance."

I smiled. "Ben, you lost your chance when you broke up with me."

"Please, Allyson! I don't know…"

Peter had seen us and had started to come over.

"Ben, it's too late."

"Allyson…"

Peter touched my waist. "Trouble?"

Ben looked at him. "Get your hands off my girl."

I pulled Peter's arms around me. "Ben, I'm not your girl anymore; you saw to that, and you can live with the consequences. You can't get me back."

I began to walk away and I pulled Peter with me.

The DJ put on a slow song, and Peter guided me out into the middle of the dance floor.

"The ex?" he asked me.

"Yes, unfortunately."

"He's trying to get you to go back out with him again?"

"And not succeeding."

"Good," Peter stated.

"Good?"

Peter smiled. "Because you're mine now." And then he leaned in and kissed me. And it felt so right.


	10. To all my readers: one question

Hey guys….I'm curious…do you think I should do an epilogue? It would be like a "10 years later" typa thing. Like the 10 year highschool reunion or something like that. Maybe five years…whatever. What do you think?


	11. Epilogue

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, I decided to write an Epilogue anyways, because it gave more closure to the story…in my opinion at least. More resolved this way. And I still might change it a bit. But whatever.

Epilogue

We parked in the shadow of my old high school. I looked around.

"I'd forgotten what it's like." I sighed. "And they've made so many changes to it. Wow." I shook my head.

Peter walked around the car, opened my door, and helped me out of the car. "What did you expect? It's been five years." He smiled. "You ready?"

"Yeah." We began walking towards the main entrance. "I wonder how many of my friends are going to be here?"

Peter shrugged.

We showed our invitations to the usher at the door and then walked inside. The environment was friendly; It was dark; Music hits from our graduation year and previous years in high school played in the background; Laughter and chatter amongst friends greeted our ears.

I scanned the room and spotted Brittany and MJ in the right corner. "Pete, I see some of my friends over there," I nodded with my head. "Wanna come?"

"Actually, I'm going to get a drink and then I'll meet you over there, ok? You want anything?"

"Whatever. You know what I like."

I walked over to my friends. "Hey guys!"

"ALLY!" Brittany squealed. She gave me a huge hug.

"Allyson! How are you?" MJ greeted me.

"Yo gurl! What's up?" Steph said.

Brittany released me and I was swallowed in another embrace from my other friends.

"Wow! I'm so glad to see all of you! How have you all been? You all are out of college?" I asked the group.

"Actually," Steph said, "I'm in med school. I'm training to become a doctor." She giggled. "There are lots of cute guys."

"I'm sure," I said smiling. "And you didn't bring one with you?"

"O, I did." She smiled. "Kevon. He's over at the refreshment table. He has the BIGGEST appetite." She rolled her eyes.

"I'm working in a business," Brittany piped up. "I'm a computer technician."

"Really? Cool! Maybe you can fix mine! I've been having the worst problems with it," I said.

We all looked at MJ. "Spill it MJ," Brittany said, "Or I'll tickle you."

MJ laughed. "I'm a fashion designer! I work with other designers under the name brand…" She paused for dramatic effect, "NeonBlack."

We all gasped. "Are you serious? That's the most popular clothing brand right now!" Steph exclaimed.

They all turned their eyes on me. Brittany poked me. "What are YOU up to, Ms. Allyson?"

I smiled. "Right now, I'm working up in New York. I'm in the Broadway cast and it's so much fun! I also teach ballet and jazz up there at a studio!"

"I expect free Broadway tickets," Steph said, giving me 'the look'.

"What are you performing right now?" MJ asked me.

I laughed. "Cats."

Brittany hit me. "I knew you would do good!" She laughed evilly. "And I get the credit for it…I taught her everything she knows!"

I tried to look affronted. "Did not! Who taught you how to do a fuete? And a chainee?" I laughed. "You taught me how to laugh, Brit. I'll give you that one."

We all chuckled.

I felt a tap on my arm and Peter slid a drink into my hand. "Hey love."

Brit, Steph, and MJ all raised their eyebrows at me.

I rolled my eyes. "MJ, Steph, and Brit, this is my fiancé, Peter."

Peter waved at them. "Hey. I think I actually met you all at that one dance…and then at all the other dances…"

He turned to me. "You won't believe it, but Cory is here."

"Cory as in from church?"

"Yeah. I'm going to go catch up with him, ok?" He kissed my cheek and walked off.

Steph glared at me. "You didn't tell us there was a guy! And that your engaged! Holy crap, that would be like the first thing out of my mouth!"

I raised my hands in apology. "Sorry! But you didn't really give me a chance! Now Steph we already know, but what about you two?" I looked at Brit and MJ.

Brit sighed. "Well, if you insist." She grinned. "I"m dating a guy; His name is Micheal. We met at a coffee shop about 3 months ago. It's getting pretty serious."

"I've been dating this guy for probably about 6 months. We're about to meet each others parents, and after that, who knows?" MJ said. "His name is Jason."

"Speaking of guys…guess who's here, Allyson?" Brit said.

I glanced at her. "Who? O, wait, never mind I know already."

"Do you?"

"Yup. And he's probably coming this way isn't he?"

Steph smiled. "You got it, babe. Do you want us to leave?"

"Could you? No offense to you people."

"Nah, it's good, Allyson," MJ said.

The three of them glided away.

I felt him stop behind me. "Hello Ben." I turned and faced him. He looked older, more mature, more settled and rational. "How are you?"

Ben looked at me. "Allyson, you look… wow." He smiled. "I had this whole speech worked up for you, and now that I'm standing here, I can't remember a word of it."

I smiled. "You could start with 'hello'."

Ben nodded. "I guess I could. You've been doing well? A broadway star I hear?"

I grimaced. "A bit of an exaggeration I fear. No star, just chorus. And I hear you've become a band director? Following in Mr. Boyd's footsteps?"

Ben nodded. "I guess you could say that. It was in marching band that I first decided that was what I wanted to do. And after being selected for drum major…I guess I felt that God wassaying that too."

"Wow. That's a first. A higher calling to be…a band director." I laughed and then stopped.

Ben broke the silence. "I like your ring."

I looked down at my hand. "Yes, it is nice."

"So who's the lucky man?"

"Peter. I think you met him, all those years ago. He's here, actually. Talking to an old friend of his that's here too." I paused, not knowing if I should change the subject.

"Allyson...I know this won't change things much, but, I want to apologize."

"For what?"

"For the way I acted… all those years ago. I was stupid and immature and selfish."

I nodded. "I accept your apology. And," I hesitated, " I want to apologize for being kind of rude and abrupt to you. It wasn't very mature of me."

Ben smiled and nodded. "I accept you apology."

Peter walked over and greeted me. "Are you free? I want you to meet some people."

I looked at Ben and he nodded. "Yeah, I'm free."

Peter pulled me over to the other side of the room.

The night passed swiftly and soon it was time to leave. I looked around the school, and thought of all the friends and memories I had there and I smiled.

Peter tapped my arm. "You ready to go?" He asked me softly.

"Yeah." I sighed. We walked down the hallway and out to the parking lot. As we were about to get in the car. I noticed Ben a few cars down, getting into his car.

I looked over at Peter. "Could you hold on a second?"

Peter nodded. "Sure."

"Thanks." I flashed him a smile and then walked over to Ben's car.

I tapped on his car top and he turned around, surprised. "Hey. I couldn't let you go with out saying goodbye."

Ben nodded. "Good luck to you, Allyson. Have a good life."

I smiled. "You too, Ben…goodbye."

I walked a few steps and then turned back. "Ben, you were wrong."

Ben turned and looked at me.

"It did change things…the apology that is."

He chuckled softly. "I know. And that's all it took… how much would our lives have changed if I had done it all those years ago? That's probably going to torment me for the rest of my life."

I smiled. "I guess it wouldn't do to invite you to our wedding?"

Ben shook his head. "It would hurt too much."

I nodded. "We can still be friends, though."

Ben laughed. "Ironic, isn't it? In a way that's what I told you by breaking up."

"But it's as true now as it was then."

Ben nodded slowly. "Goodbye, Allyson." He held out a hand.

I took his hand. "Goodbye, Ben."

Then I turned away and walked to my car. But I couldn't resist throwing that one last glance over my shoulder and I wondered…


End file.
